Canadian Live-in Caregiver Program

Although PACT and other organizations fighting
human trafficking have traditionally focused on sex trafficking, labour trafficking
is another form of trafficking that deserves our attention.. Just as with sex
trafficking, labour trafficking is happening in Canada. Just as with sex
trafficking, Canadian policies have a big influence on the forms this crime
takes. The lack of public and political interest in labour trafficking is
staggering.

Have you heard of the Canadian live-in caregiver program? It allows mostly
women from the Philippines to work in a Canadian home as a domestic worker, and
apply for permanent residency after two years of work. However, the migrants’
work permit is tied to their employer and the migrant is required to live in
the home of their employer, which places these legal migrants in precarious
positions, vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. The same can be said
about the Domestic Worker Accreditation Program, which allows embassy staff to
employ domestic workers during their posting period in Canada.

PACT-Ottawa has started a new committee, which will investigate domestic work
as a form of trafficking in Canada. The first meeting took place last week, and
we are still looking for committee members.

The article below describes a recent case of labour trafficking involving a
domestic worker in Ottawa: